Standing in His Own Footsteps
by SoundGeare
Summary: When Link enters the room full of mirrors, he is forced to fight something darker than he has ever fought before. Something dark, twisted, insane. Evil. He is forced to look in the mirror and decide once and for all, what is a hero. And what is the difference between good and evil. -oneshot-


And he stepped into the room

Then it wasn't a room, it was nowhere at all

The room wasn't a room

It was another world within itself

Fog, mist, swirling tendrils of it snaked out from the mass, twisting itself lazily around his ankle

Link looked ahead, into the swirling, churning cloud of vapor

Then he took a step

The water didn't part around his foot

He stood just above it, above the icy liquid

Or maybe he simply stood above it all

Link too another step, and another

As he progressed, the mist parted around him

Giving way to the hero

He couldn't have taken more than a dozen steps before he heard the voice

"Are you who you think?"

Link turned, and there he saw it

He saw not a man, but a creature of darkness

Shaggy grey hair escaped from beneath a tattered shadowy hat

Red eyes burned from the ashen face, a face that seemed demented

Behind the eyes, there slept a conscience, worn down by thousands of acts of merciless violence

As the creature took a step forward, the mist parted not around it, but into it

Something deep within the monster burned, melting away the wispy fog

Something burned, something killed, neither had a heart, both stood before Link

"Do you think of yourself, as two?"

The voice spoke with the effect of shattering glass and screaming children

It stole Link's attention, mystifying and tantalizing him

The shadow spoke so softly that only a single man could hear him

Something burnt in the hand of the creature

The black fire spread and became a sword, the blade as black as Link's was white

The mist that was burnt away by the very skin of the monster

The fog that was destroyed by this shadow

It was pulled together until it seemed to block out all light

A dull black shield formed in the second hand of the monster

"You are a man such as I, and you become more like me with every lie you tell yourself"

The words didn't even affect Link, they had come from the mouth of evil

They must be lies themselves

"How can you call yourself a man?" Link scoffed

The shadow laughed

The sound of it echoed throughout this mist filled world

Deep, dark, and evil

"I call myself a man just as you call yourself a hero"

Determined to end this before the spectral creature could speak again, Link jumped forward

He brandished the master sword

The sword of evil's bane

A blade that was filled with the pure power of light and goodness

The shadow pulled its own sword up, easily fending off Link's attack

The shadow brandished a sword made of night

The sword of Light's bane

A blade that was filled with the pure power of darkness and corruption

The shadow's mouth was pulled into an evil looking grin

Twisted teeth showed through

Suddenly the shadow struck back

Link was barely able to stop the attack

This shadow seemed strong, but could it be stronger than he himself?

The shadow struck again, a horizontal strike that was meant for Link's legs

Link jumped back, out of the reach of the shadow's blade

"What kind of hero are you? Running from yourself."

Link jumped forward, scalded by the words

He mirrored the shadow, attacking the legs of his adversary

The shadow jumped high into the air, easily avoiding Link's attack

"How can you defeat yourself? If you plan to follow in your own footsteps?"

The shadow laughed, his voice ringing In Link's ears

Enraged, Link leapt forward, sword first

The tip of the master sword was plunged straight into the chest of the still laughing shadow

They collapsed together

Link was left kneeling over the body of the shadow, staring into its eyes

Black liquid began to trickle out of the corner of the shadow's grey lips

Slowly, the bloodstained lips began to move once more

"A coin of value…" The shadow began

Link watched horrified, as the shadow leaned forward, impaling himself on the master sword

"Two sides…" The lips said

Those red eyes slowly moved closer to Link's not even flinching as the brilliant white blade cut through his chest

"Worthless…" The shadow said

Now the eyes were just an inch away from Link's own

"…is a single side." Dark Link finished

The dying man continued to lean forward until his nose touched Link's own

Link felt something burn through him, starting from the point of contact

He watched as the man slowly faded away

In just a moment, Link was staring at the water

His sword was pressing against nothing but the floor

Link was looking at his reflection

He was the same, except for his eyes

Before, they had been a shade of blue

They had always been a shade of blue

Link's eyes were purple

He stood, slowly

He kept his sword and shield out

Fear was coursing through him

The water parted around his foot

He was standing down in it, submerged in the icy liquid

Link too another step, and another

As he progressed, the mist was burn away, slowly becoming nothing

It didn't simply give way to him as it once had

Maybe it would have given away for a hero

Maybe it would have parted for an average man

The mist would never part for the shadow


End file.
